Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 0.5% – What’s Next?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price traded down 0.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $916.43 and last traded at $918.08. 525,864 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 1,445,790 shares. The stock had previously closed at $922.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $409.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.17, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $944.01 and its 200 day moving average is $897.06.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,816 shares of company stock worth $6,981,347 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 618,383 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1,300.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 308 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 16,357 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,903,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,175 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,699,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Moser Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Moser Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,625,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.